Tag: BitShares

Private securities marketplace SharesPost recently released findings from their third consumer and investor survey on trends in cryptocurrencies and …

Private securities marketplace SharesPost recently released findings from their third consumer and investor survey on trends in cryptocurrencies and blockchain. The first survey conducted by the firm was in January and the second in July of last year.

Results of the survey are overwhelmingly positive, with most respondents forecasting widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain within ten years.

Consumers and investors continue to offer a bullish, long term outlook for crypto and blockchain, reads the executive summary. Consumers’ positive outlook remains largely unchanged since the beginning of last year.

That’s already a lot to get excited about but it’s also only the tip of the iceberg. Let’s take a closer look at the survey at its results.

About the Survey

The survey was conducted online and was open to people who use SharesPost, either as consumers or as certified investors. Just over 1000 consumers and just under 100 investors responded to the survey.

The majority of consumers who responded live in North America and make less than $100,000/year. The majority of investors who responded also live in North America but make over $200,000/year.

The survey asked respondents whether Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple were here to stay. It asked if respondents planned on increasing their cryptocurrency holdings and whether cryptocurrencies would go up in value. The survey also asked whether they expected further regulation to come to cryptocurrencies.

The survey didn’t only ask about cryptocurrencies, it also asked about the blockchain technology. It asked investors whether their companies would adopt blockchain and whether consumers thought their employers would adopt it. It asked whether they thought blockchain would disrupt established financial services. The survey also asked what concerns they had or what they saw as obstacles to adoption.

What Did Respondents Have to Say about Bitcoin and Altcoins?

Investor faith in Bitcoin has increased for over 30%. Over 80% of investors – compared to less than 50% in January of 2018 – are saying that the cryptocurrency is here to stay. Investor faith in Ethereum has decreased to just below 70% (last year, it was almost 90%) and investor faith in Ripple fluctuates around 40%. The percentage of investors who reported that they plan on increasing cryptocurrency holdings has gone up from 59% to 68% since last summer. Investor concerns regarding security, volatility, and regulation are all down from the previous survey.

Consumer faith in Bitcoin has dropped to just over 70% from nearly 80% in July. For Ethereum it’s fallen to just under 50% from just over 50% in July. Consumer faith in Ripple is on the rise but remains below 30%. The percentage of consumers who plan on increasing their crypto holdings is at a survey-record-low 65%.

But what cryptocurrencies did respondents hold other than Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple? Investors also had a lot in stable coins, Litecoin, Ox, and Basic Attention Tokens. Consumers had less in stable coins, more in Ethereum classic, and some holdings in Litecoin, Basic Attention Tokens, and Ox.

Consumer concerns regarding regulation and security have both dropped to survey-record-lows. However, consumer concerns over volatility have risen to a survey-record-high.

Most investors also agreed that they expected for cryptocurrencies to go up in value by between 10% and 50%. Most consumers expect cryptocurrencies to go up by 10% to 25%. Around 40% of both investors and consumers also expect crypto regulations to improve and be more clear.

Surveyed investors see crypto valuations increasing.

75% of surveyed consumers see crypto prices increasing.

What Did Respondents Have to Say about Blockchain?

Responses regarding the future of blockchain technology were less illuminating because the numbers were much closer. Asked whether companies would adopt blockchain soon, responses — “yes” (39%), “no” (39%), and “I don’t know” (22%) — were all close. The “yes” numbers are up from July and the “no” and “I don’t know” responses are both down. Investors also gave survey-record-high responses that blockchain would disrupt money transfer, payments, and asset and identity management.

Consumers were more confident in their answers and more of them answered that they expected their employers to adopt blockchain. Trends regarding consumer opinion on blockchain disrupting other banking institutions were similar to that of investors.

Adoption of Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain

As for the adoption of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, consumers and investors responded similarly as well. Over 60% of both groups said that they expect wide-spread blockchain adoption by the end of 2025.

Investor consensus points to crypto and Blockchain adoption by 2025.

Nobody has a crystal ball to look into the future of cryptocurrencies. However, if this survey is representative of all consumers and investors, it’s safe to say that crypto isn’t going anywhere.

Blockchain too seems to be not just-around-the-corner, but certainly on its way.

In the world, today cryptocurrencies, in particular, bitcoin, are fast gaining popularity. Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies that exist only in essence.

In the world, today cryptocurrencies, inparticular, bitcoin, are fast gaining popularity. Cryptocurrencies are digitalcurrencies that exist only in essence. They are yielded through encodingtechnology and it is this technology that is used to modulate bitcoin tradingand subsequent verification of their transfer. The virtual nature ofcryptocurrencies gives them autonomy and absolves them from any kind ofregulation by the central bank. Many investors have taken advantage of thismillennial milestone owing to its secure and transparent nature. However, notall of them share the same story as some have experienced losses while othershave gained from it. This leaves us with the question, is cryptocurrency worthinvesting in?

Advantagesof Investing in Cryptocurrency

Security

One of the reasons why cryptocurrencieshave gained global appeal is because of their secure nature. Cryptocurrenciesare encoded into a database. For anyone to change a particular code theindividual would have to fulfill certain conditions. These conditions revolvearound public acknowledgment and it would, therefore, be impossible to alterany code or introduce a new one without it being traced back to you.Furthermore, the value of the coin is secured by encryption. The person whosends the coin possesses a private key that requires miners to work it out likea puzzle before the transaction is confirmed. This means that anyone who cannotwork out this private key will not be able to access the coin. Confirmation ofa transaction simply means that the transaction has been broadcast and it hasreceived a node from other parties in the network. Failure to do so results inthe breakdown of the system. It is in this manner that cryptocurrency gains itstrust.

Legitimacy

Cryptocurrency trading drawsits legitimacy from the unanimity of the participants in its network. It hasgained global approval by most leaders as a legal medium of payment. Thisapproval has particularly posed an advantage to investors since they are morelikely to garner huge profits. Banks have also approved the use of bitcoins tomake payments and have even relinquished their control over any transactionsthat involve cryptocurrency. This has given cryptocurrency independence. Owingto this independence, transactions made by cryptocurrency are much easier. Thiscould be attributed to the fact that they do not involve long and tediousprocesses like other transactions that have to be sanctioned by the centralbank. Even as more people continue to trade online, it is highly likely thatpeople with bitcoins are the ones who will be better placed to reap maximumprofits.

Lower transaction fees

No transaction fees are usually chargedfor transactions involving cryptocurrency. This is because minors who solve theprivate key of the sender usually get a reward and some compensation from thenetwork. This has made these transactions cheaper and more affordable andinvestors no longer have to agonize over high transaction fees that have beenimposed by other modes of payment. However, most investors tend to involvethird parties in bitcoin trading such as Coinbase to maintain their bitcoinwallets. In doing so, such third parties are likely to impose some fee which inmost cases is quite affordable.

Disadvantagesof Investing in Cryptocurrency

Cybersecurity

With the technological revolution, itwould not be strange for the technology behind bitcoins to be compromised. Thesecurity offered by encryption of cryptocurrency may be breached by hackers whoare always lurking for any point of weakness. This may end up costing investorshuge amounts of money because prices are attached to the currencies.

Virtual

Cryptocurrency exists only in essence suchthat there are no physical coins and notes. As a result, there is, therefore,no central place where the currency can be deposited for safe keeping. Thisbecomes disastrous in the circumstances of the system crashing. This is becauseit will be very difficult to recover any balance since everything will be lostas it was not tangible. Its lack of inherent value could also result inunpredictability in prices

As much as lack of regulation of bitcointrading by the central bank is advantageous, it also poses some disadvantages. Lackof regulation of cryptocurrency means it is not under any control orsupervision. This attracts more investors thereby increasing their chances ofinvesting in this technology. This is likely to lead to traffic in the networkwhich is likely to slow down transactions and even pave way for fraudulentactivities.

Speed

The time taken to carry out transactionsvia cryptocurrencies is relatively longer as compared to other means of paymentsuch as VISA. This could be attributed to the large number of participantsinvolved in the network. The buyer seeks to acquire coins that are already inthe network. The sender of these coins possesses a private key which must beresolved by the minor before the transaction is confirmed. Other parties in thenetwork also have to acknowledge this payment. All these processes take a relativelylong time as compared to other payment processes such as VISA and MasterCardwhich are faster.

It is therefore evident thatcryptocurrency has its hills and valleys. It is therefore upon investors tomake prudent decisions to experience the benefits that are conjured up bycryptocurrency. After all, the only limit to what one can achieve is hisimagination.

A lot of people believe in the functionalities of cryptocurrencies with the main examples being Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk. It is a good opportunity for …

The Founder of TRON (TRX) discussed the future of cryptocurrency at CNBC. Justin spoke how crypto is going to change the future of young generations. He stated that Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies have a bright future.

When he was asked about the future of BTC and Crypto, he said that he felt optimistic and confident that the crypto industry is moving in the right direction and the future of crypto is promising.

He also stated that companies like Facebook and JP Morgan is trying to issue the stable coin on the blockchain. Sun said,

A lot of people believe in the functionalities of cryptocurrencies with the main examples being Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk. It is a good opportunity for younger generations to get into the field especially at a time when the Lightning Network and other such Layer 2 technologies are becoming popular. We are facing the next wave of the internet.

He also stated that Bitcoin is a technology rather than a business opportunity. Justin further said about the Q2 acquisition of BitTorrent, a move aimed at bringing in millions of users to the Tron network. Here is what he said in his own words,

Basically valuation and the market cap is just the surface of the business. The main focus of the Tron Foundation is business, technology and the exciting things on the Tron network right now.

Tron (TRX) is currently the 10th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. It is trading at $0.022 at the time of writing this article.

UPBTC is the latest in the series of tokens and stablecoins released through the Universal Protocol Alliance. It follows the launch of the Universal Dollar (UPUSD) – a stablecoin pegged on a 1:1 ratio to the U.S. dollar.

Dan Schatt, Chairman of the UP Alliance, explained that Universal Bitcoin will make bitcoin “accessible and seamlessly convertible through a single blockchain network.”

“We are bringing Bitcoin to Ethereum in the form of a secure proxy token that can now reason with any Ethereum application,” he said. “UPBTC is the safe, convenient way for anyone to hold and interact with Bitcoin and benefit from the same consumer safeguards, code integrity, transparency and interoperable properties as the Universal Dollar (UPUSD) and every other Universal Token issued through the Alliance.”

According to the official release, UPBTC has been designed with institutional level security in mind. The Universal Protocol Platform contains a request system that can manage whitelists and revoke access to addresses addressing critical security issues associated with compromised keys.

In addition, UPBTC works seamlessly with the Universal Protocol Token (UPT), designed to allow for quick, low-cost conversion of UPBTC to Bitcoin and other digital assets.

“The Universal Protocol Platform brings together Universal Proxy Tokens for all major cryptocurrencies on a single protocol, effectively solving the challenge of interoperability in an elegant and scalable way,” the Universal Protocol Alliance said in an online post.

The alliance said that UPBTC has been designed as a smart bookkeeping system that logs deposits and withdrawals on a smart contract. In case a bad actor intends to down the website housing the transparency page, anyone would still be able to query Ethereum for the data. This would help instill trust and confidence in the system, it said.

Composing room of the New York Times (photo by Marjorie Collins via Wiki Commons from U.S. Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black & White Photographs)

The New York Times might be jumping into the blockchain business.

Despite publishing an article about blockchain-based media platform Civil’s failed initial token offering titled, “Alas, the Blockchain Won’t Save Journalism After All,” the Times on March 13 posted a job listing for a “Lead, Blockchain Exploration” position which it described as “a forward-looking leader who will help envision and design a blockchain-based proof of concept for news publishers.”

So, maybe that “alas” came too soon for the business side of The Gray Lady. It has aggressively covered the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry, and its lead reporter on the beat, Nathaniel Popper, was placed at No. 75 on Modern Consensus’ list of the 100 Most Influential People in Crypto for 2019.

The listing, which was removed from job site Glassdoor a few hours after the story broke, sought an individual to, “codify the vision for the research project and share that vision with potential stakeholders at other media organizations… [and] brand and create a public identity and assets for the project.” Recruiting for the project and building a “roster of advisors from news organizations, academia, and social media companies,” was also part of the job description.

It’s not the first company to attempt to use blockchain to turn around the general slide in revenue the publishing industry has suffered since the early 2000s. And, in fact, it may be a lot better positioned than most, with a stock price that has nearly tripled in the past three years, making up more than half of what the Times lost when the industry tanked during the Internet boom.

It’s taking the idea a lot more seriously than the Wall Street Journal which created the short-lived, never-really-serious WSJCoin, as an experiment launched by two of the publication’s reporters to better understand the cryptocurrency market.

The first company to make that attempt in a substantial way is Civil, which describes itself as both a platform and a network to help change the business of high-quality independent journalism.

While Civil’s first run at changing the publishing industry ended in tears last October witha failed initial coin offering, it is still very much alive. In December, the company’s founder and CEO Matthew Iles said the blockchain hype had overwhelmed its core message about funding quality journalism. Earlier this month, it launched its CVL token, although it is not yet being used for its main purpose, allowing individuals to directly fund quality journalism they like.

Where blockchain can take media

If there’s one thing that Civil’s rocky start has made clear, it’s that there is no easy blockchain-based solution to the problems that the journalism industry, and indeed the broader media industry is facing.

But there is a lot of interest in it. According to an August 2018 Accenture report, 55 percent of the media and platform executives surveyed called blockchain a top-five priority, and 83 percent plan to increase their investments in the technology over the next three years.

In a June 2018 report, JPMorgan Chase said “[b]lockchain has the potential to disrupt the way content is produced, aggregated, distributed and consumed—and the possibilities for content creators, brokers and arbiters of intellectual property are too big to ignore.”

Specifically, the report, “The Future of Blockchain in Media and Entertainment,” sees four basic areas in which blockchain could prove transformative, beginning with micropayments that allow readers, viewers or listeners access to individual articles, songs, or videos. For some larger content that’s already available—Amazon lets you buy a 24-hour pass to many TV shows and movies, for example—but it’s difficult to do with single-use purchases of smaller content like reading a single news article or listening to a song. According to JPMorgan Chase, “A micropayment pricing model would normally be inefficient to implement, but its execution could be fully automated and cost-effective with blockchain.”

Another is royalty distribution, which would use blockchain-enable smart contracts that not only make payment distribution to various content creators and copyright-holders near instantaneous. That improved ability to track content could also be used to effectively legalize peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing by enabling consumer to consumer (C2C) sales. This would allow content owners to automatically track and charge a fee for content shared with friends.

Of course, all of this can be used to bypass traditional content aggregators like newspapers that put their content behind paywalls, allowing content creators to directly sell to consumers. Which is a good reason for the New York Times to try and get a jump on the technology.

Leo Jakobson, Modern Consensus senior editor, is a New York-based journalist who has spent much of the last 15 years covering the employee engagement and recognition business. Before that he covered the East Coast side of the Internet boom and bust, and wrote about politics in New York City. Disclosure: Jakobson owns no cryptocurrencies.